141–150 of 494 posts
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It was explained to me when I lived in Japan, that while there are many Japanese media companies that exist independently in Japan, they all have to go to one central government body to renew their licenses to exist. They get some leeway but it's it's not much
In the US all radio and TV stations also have to get and renew licenses from the government to be allowed to broadcast.
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so what makes Japan more democratic? (is there some power consolidation index that can distinguish between Singapore and Japan effectively?)
The Japanese ruling party has actually lost power and smoothly transitioned.
in theory there's no problem with this, after all if they represent the plurality ... just as in theory many political systems should work just fine.
and it's certainly possible that this is what the vast majority of people there wants, so it might score 100% on "democracy", even if there are certain very obvious problems (let's say their insane justice system, or the simple fact that their population is both shrinking and ageing)
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It’s absolutely insane to me that people are criticizing the Japanese media over this. Why should we be amplifying a murder’s message? Don’t reward a man for shooting someone in the back. After every mass shooting in the US I see widespread criticism of the media for sensationalism and turning mass murders into stars. Yet when another country follows this very advice, they’re criticized for a lack of free speech?
Knowledge and transparency is oxygen to a democracy. Without an informed populace you can not have an effective democracy.
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Can you tell about the two others?
The Epoch Times is owned by Falun Gong. (They are apocalyptic/UFO/meditation cult, they have been banned in China and, if you believe their claims, organ harvested. I don’t know how much to believe those claims, but China does keep a lot of things with organs weirdly secret. FG are present at every anti-Chinese protest. They also do the Chinese ballet which name I forgot now…. ah yeah Shen Yun) I don’t know any other…
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There is no licensing of the print or online media in Japan. However, there are a number of factors that effectively limit the freedom of many media outlets. The kisha clubs [1], which control media access to government officials and the police, are restricted to reporters from major media organizations. The tabloid press frequently complains about those restrictions and use those restrictions as justification for th…
> An amusing one that I remember is when a magazine was not allowed to include the term shōgi daoshi—literally, “falling over like shogi pieces” An amusing one on multiple levels. Standard shogi pieces don't fall over! They're not miniature statues like in Western chess, but flat reversible tiles [0]. It's like it was written by a Western journalist who needed to translate his idiom into Japanese. [0] https://upload.…
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Why aren't the major Japanese media outlets covering this angle before the polls close in Japan's upper house elections (today)?
Isn’t it controversial whether or not he did have a connection? There is a value of free speech in Japan but it’s not exactly like America’s, and I think the Japanese media would mostly avoid stirring the pot immediately prior to an election, and especially for a claim that may be unfounded. I won’t argue whether their approach is the right one or not and this is just my opinion, but that seems like that would be why…
I mean, the cult connection is only important for the fact that someone killed him for it. And I am going to guess that it tells you something about the deranged mind of the killer, and probably not much interesting about Abe.
Edit: I mean, come on, "newsflash: prominent politician involved in dubious business or accounting practices", you could probably have safely assumed it :)
The linked article ends with this: “Why the Japanese media has refused to identify the ‘religious group’ that formed the motive for the killing must remain as speculation at this juncture, though it reflects very poorly on Japan’s status as a democratic nation.” It’s important to note that the Japanese media is not monolithic. It’s true that the major newspapers (Asahi, Yomiuri, Mainichi, Nikkei, etc.) and the broadc…
It was explained to me when I lived in Japan, that while there are many Japanese media companies that exist independently in Japan, they all have to go to one central government body to renew their licenses to exist. They get some leeway but it's it's not much
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The killer could have gone anywhere Abe was?
Not without outside help, and there is no evidence of that so this is quite speculative. I don't think it is possible for an individual to track a high ranking former official like that without being noticed so personally I see this as coincidence rather than anything else. And that may well explain the reluctance to go further in their statements by the media, they are likely just waiting for the results of the inve…